Looming in front of the man, the structure stood with all the menacing power that he had built it up to be in his mind. It seemed to go up forever, touching the cloudless sky; almost reaching the God’s themselves. The sheer architecture was enough to make him envy the people that resided in its lavish interior. The beautiful simplicity of it called to him, made him really become aware of the monstrous building that seemed to cast a shadow on all that was around it. It was mysteriously striking and he wondered why he had never really noticed it before, after all there was only a short distance between here and his own building, which now seemed like a vain attempt to capture what this thing above him possessed. He looked up one last time before opening the glass doors. The inside of the building was skillfully sophisticated, continuing the theme from the outside. His boots made slight clicking noises on the marble that was stretched all over the floor, a pale blue, he didn’t think he had ever seen that color before. He soon realized that he didn’t know the last name of the man that Justin was now staying with, or anything about him, except that he was a drug-dealer. Wild caricatures of what the man looked like invaded his mind. He couldn’t possibly be living here…and Justin, had he hit so low as to stay with this man. Justin had always reamed him out about drugs and now here he was, profiting from them. Brian shook his head and was even more determined to find answers. His back straight and his head held high, he gave off the perfect illusion of belonging. The security man merely nodded when he walked past and Brian let a small smirk slip before boarding the empty elevator. The boy gulped as the man entered and kept his eyes away from him, looking straight ahead at the mirrored wall. He was still a little apprehensive of making proper use of the elevator, the last time he was sure that they were caught when the blonde’s whatever was standing there, waiting for him, no doubt. He really seemed pissed and the boy was glad to be able to make a mad dash from that scene. “What floor, sir?” The boy let out in a hushed tone. The man was not answering him and the boy wondered whether he had heard him or not. He was about to ask again when the man spoke up. “Actually, I don’t know, I’m looking for someone. Blonde, blue eyes, great ass. You seen him?” Brian smirked as the boy tensed momentarily, looking down at the carpet that lined the elevator. “We aren’t supposed to give out information about the residents, sir.” The boy whispered quietly. His fear of the man went ten fold when he came up behind him, placing one hand on his shoulder, his breath hitting the boy’s ear. “It’s very important that I find this friend of mine, very important.” The hushed words hung heavily in the modest elevator and now it seemed swamped with an intense discomfort. “I’m sorry sir, but employees are not allowed to provide information-“ “Yes, as you’ve said, but this is extremely important, you know what I mean. I’m sure you can understand these circumstances. I give you my word that no harm will come to your position. I’ll find out one way or another.” The boy sighed and weighed his options; he desperately wanted to get rid of this man. The bastard he worked for had warned him about apartment ten’s visitors. No, Mr. Orton had said, don’t worry they all take the stairs. Bullshit. But, he really didn’t want the very dangerous looking man behind him being mad at him…for any reason. Fear won out. “Tenth floor, sir.” Brian let out a smirk, a sneer only used when he got what he wanted. And Brian always got what he wanted. “Tenth floor it is then.” The boy pressed the button and stood rigid before the man. Never in his life had he wished that the elevator moved faster, or had he wished that the damn people who lived here could do it themselves. The awkwardness still lingered when the bell pinged upon arrival, but the boy said a silent thanks, happy to have this strange encounter over with. “Thanks, kid.” Brian murmured while stepping out of the elevator, the boy found himself speechless and only nodded his head. No words could be summoned from this bazaar encounter. It took a minute for him to regain his composure; it looked like now would be a good time for his break. It wasn’t until he was standing right in front of the door that a sudden nervousness came over him. He exhaled and tried to gather enough courage to face what was behind the entrance. Were all his fears coming true? It seemed like, in Brian Kinney’s life, he couldn’t really hold onto anything without tarnishing it in someway. He thought about this and pondered for a minute. What was he here for, really? He knew the building, hell he knew the apartment. Debbie or even Jennifer could call here and get all the information they wanted. But, there was something, a feeling deep, deep inside of him and he didn’t know what it was. He laughed, that damn Irish intuition. It was incessant and it wanted him to go in there, to get the truth for himself. Had Justin changed so much that he would hide the truth from the two people that cared about him, that took care of him? He knew that he would, somehow he knew it with every fiber of his being. Justin would spare them this new life of his, not get them involved at all. Hell, look who he was living with. No, Justin couldn’t avoid Brian, Justin was never able to and he couldn’t lie to Brian either. Brian was the only one who could get the truth out of the boy. Come hell or high water. He knocked and waited a few moments. He wasn’t able to discern any kind of noises inside. He knocked again, louder and angrier, already becoming impatient. He cleared his throat and called out for the boy, waited, and still received no response. His hand fell to the doorknob. He looked at it for a moment, unsure of what he was doing. But, that gut feeling was telling him to go on. To continue this. The door opened and without any hesitation, Brian peeked his head in and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He found no one was in immediate view of his little trip into breaking and entering. Well, he hadn’t entered yet…but he knew he would. He looked around, eyes boring into the brightly lit room in front of him, finding no one he stepped into the very large apartment, closing the door behind him. It wouldn’t be wise to forget his manners in this situation. He was impressed at the beautifully decorated space before him. The apartment was very spacious, very open. He could see the stairs plainly from here, could see the kitchen and bar, the desk covered in papers, and the fireplace. Unlike his home, which consisted of hard lines and basic colors, this place had a warm feel to it. Like it was actually a home. He didn’t give himself time to doubt his actions, he had a job to do. There was a song playing on repeat, surrounding the entire apartment with noise. It sounded familiar to him, he thought for a moment or two, it seemed like he had heard Justin listening to it after he had gotten home from the hospital but, he wasn’t positive. He moved over to the kitchen, where the loud rock was coming from, and hit the off button on the stereo. He stood very quietly, very still and he was sure he could hear something, something from upstairs. He wasn’t quite sure what it was but, he made the trek up the stairs without pause. He stopped at the their bedroom; the sliding doors wide open. This seemed like the only real evidence that Justin lived here, because there were his clothes, spread out over the room. All of them dirty, all of them needing to be washed. Brian smiled and moved deeper into the room, his smile fading when he saw the empty condom packets by the bed. Apparently the house cleaning services had not made their visit this week. He sat down on the bed treating it like his own and glanced around him. He wondered how beautiful Justin looked when the blue walls bounced their color off of him. He wouldn’t ever know, he thought sadly. He fingered the chrome lightly; his hands sliding down the sleek bars. He shook his head and got up from the unmade bed. “Justin?” Brian called out again, louder now. It should have been clear to him that the boy was not there, but there was still that nagging sensation, urging him on. He thought how ridiculous he would look if John walked in on him, breaking into their apartment to try and get Justin to talk to him. How fucking pathetic. And what if Justin was with him, oh God, he’d be mortified. He shook his head and felt the need to get this over with. He was standing at the threshold of the bedroom door, when something hit him. He looked back slowly and for the first time saw the strip of light just under a door adjacent to the huge bedroom. He wondered why he hadn’t seen it before. Something was wrong here, he thought suddenly. He gave himself a metal shake; that was a ‘duh’, it seemed from the very moment he entered the building something was off. Something, he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was then that the wave of fear hit him … intense, mind-numbing fear. He let out a nervous laugh, what the hell was he so afraid of; the worst thing that he could walk in on would be the two of them post coital, but, he didn’t think he could really stomach that either. “Quit being such a pussy and open the fucking door.” He whispered quietly to himself. He immediately straightened his shoulders and held his head up higher. The door was pushed open. They say in situations like these, you’re almost on autopilot. That you don’t think, you just react, you don’t doubt yourself, you just move. But, that wasn’t true for Brian Kinney, very far from the truth, in fact. It seemed for the first time in his life, Brian was absolutely aware of what he was feeling, what he was seeing, what was really happening around him. That intense fear, the nervousness…it all came screaming back to him. The look on his face was priceless and had Justin been conscious, Brian was sure he would have laughed. He wouldn’t be able to digest that thought until the ambulance ride, taking them to a very prestigious hospital not far from here. But, right then, in that huge bathroom, Brian couldn’t think about anything but the boy in front of him and all of the realizations that had hit him within the few seconds. “Justin…” It was so cliché. Whispering his name. Running to him, falling to his knees and bringing the young man to him. But, that’s what happened, that’s exactly what Brian did. He allowed himself those few brief moments of panic, intense fear and other emotions, and then he went into action. Brian pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. He listened to the woman’s instructions and did as told. He wrapped the small towels he had found tightly around Justin’s wrists, checked for a pulse and told the information he had gathered. They would be there shortly, which to Brian…meant forever. John was surprised when his Uncle Kane had called him that morning for a visit. Okay, surprised wasn’t the right word, annoyed would have been better. Yeah, annoyed and surprised. His Uncle rarely conducted any conversations with John over the phone. The old man was extremely paranoid and John could understand his reasoning. John was bitter at the man for waking him up impossibly early. But, he agreed nonetheless, simply because his uncle held that much power over him, and they both knew it. John sighed and decided that this week was going to be as bad as the last one. At least last week was over, he thought as he exited the shower. It seemed that Justin had forgiven him and for that he was eternally grateful. Maybe they would get out of town this weekend, go up to New York or maybe Vermont. He thought that there was still some snow up there, it would be romantic. The current object of his fantasies was lying face down on his bed, still heavily asleep. It seemed that was all the kid was doing now a days. John would talk to him about it later, now even more resolved to get the kid out of the apartment this weekend. He was dressed and ready in less that forty-five minutes and Justin had still not stirred. John briefly wondered if he had found the sleeping pills last night after John had gone to bed, he had thought that Justin had gotten up. He looked in the locked drawer of his desk, but they were still there. He sighed and left Justin a note. He took a taxi to the very large and very prominent building his uncle owned. He watched the buildings that lined the way, getting taller and more magnificent. Watched the people that littered in some of the alleys between those buildings. He had never known what that kind of life was like, he would never know, he thought. His uncle might hate him at times, might curse the day he was ever born, but John knew that he was important enough that Kane would do nothing to him. Kane needed John as much as he needed Kane, they both kept each other’s dirty little secrets. “Excuse me?” The taxi-driver told John the sum again. John nodded and handed the man the money. “Keep the change.” “Ya spoil me.” John simply glared at the man and exited the cab, slamming the door shut. This day was just getting better and better, he thought. He resisted the urge to detour and buy some cigarettes, why give his uncle something else to bitch at him about. If you wanted to know the real reason why John never did the drugs he dealt out on an almost daily basis, it was because of his uncle. Just to spite the old bastard. To show him that he could do it, that he could always be one-step away from the straight and narrow. A step he probably would never make, but that’s another story. John had noted that the only person that really noticed him was the man that sat behind the first counter upon entering the building. The man, Eli Stahl, had been there since before John was a teenager doing odd jobs for his uncle. His first dribble into the lifestyle that he now led. He really should have foreseen what his life would have become then, but that first taste of power was what got him, hook, line and sinker. That was what doomed him. He was addicted to it and did not want that out of this life. He tried to calm the thoughts that were running through his mind. That’s why he hated coming here; it gave him to many memories to look back upon and to think about. He thought that Justin had a good idea with sleeping all the time. “John, my boy, it’s good to see you again.” Eli stood from his position behind the desk and extended his right hand towards John. Eli’s age was indiscernible to John. Eli had always remained ageless to the man and every time that John would see him, he wouldn’t look any different than the last time. John liked that. John, actually, had very fond memories of the man before him. Eli was the chief of security and always stayed at the front, greeting and meeting every person that entered Bonheim, Inc, instead of the cushy office his uncle had assigned to him. One of the very few things that John and his Uncle Kane agreed on was Eli, and just how valuable the man was to both of them. When his uncle had brought him here, and he had brought him here many times throughout the years, Eli was the one that would stay with him, play with him, talk to him on John’s level. If John had ever had a father, had ever wanted a father, he would have wished for Eli. “Good to see you too, Eli.” John did not take the offered hand, but pulled Eli to him, giving the man a mighty hug. “Whoa, now son. These bones don’t work like they once did.” “Sorry, Eli.” Now that John thought about it, Eli was really the only one that could make him still blush. He was pretty sure that if Justin tried he could, but the kid was going through something, and John was letting him get it out of his system. John, just like his uncle, again one of the very rare things about the two, had the unfaltering belief that every thing would eventually work itself out. John believed that then and he still believed it now. “It’s okay, Johnny, so how’s life been treating you, got a new one yet?” Johnny, now that was a name that he hadn’t heard in awhile. Eli returned to his seat and sat forward with his shoulders hunched; one of the many perks from this job, his fingers threaded with each other, his eyes never wavering. John should have expected that Eli would have gone into interrogation mode as soon as he stepped over to the man. John smiled and remembered when Eli asked him if he was gay. They were in a seedy bar, a blues one that Eli had always liked. John had always taken him out on his birthday, even though Eli would never reveal his age to the man. John wasn’t entirely ready to tell Eli, who would have been the first to know about John’s sexual orientation. He had seriously thought that the man would have never spoken to him again, shunned him if he knew the truth and John didn’t think that he could handle that. So he simply shook his head, his eyes fixated on some small light in the corner of the bar. Eli had let it go, said all right, simply an old man’s intuition, and maybe it was about time that it was wrong. John had sighed and said that it was never wrong, if you didn’t have intuition, you were really up shit-creek with out a paddle. Eli smiled, ordered another drink, and asked if John had a boyfriend yet, because he would like to meet him. They both recalled getting very drunk that night. “Yeah…” John wasn’t ready to indulge Eli just yet. “Yep, you never could go really long without one.” Eli chuckled, dropping his gaze from John. “Cute.” “Always.” “~ Eli, is John there yet? ~” John was momentarily glad for the interruption, then realized that it was time to face the music. “Yes, sir, Mr. Bonheim. I’ll send him that way right now.” Eli said into the small black device on the corner of his desk. “Thank you, Eli.” Eli looked up at him with an amused expression. John smirked, sighed, and then headed towards the elevator. It felt like forever before the ambulance got there. It seemed they never rode in the elevator; all of them climbed the ten flights of stairs to the apartment. The door was knocked open and Brian looked up in surprise, like he would actually be able to see them from a staircase up and several walls in-between. “In here.” He yelled and wished for time to go a little faster. As soon as they saw him, clutching the boy to him, both covered in blood, they ripped Justin away from Brian. Brian stepped back, giving up the boy without a fight and watched on intently. “Justin? Justin?” A flashlight was hitting his retina and he still made no movement. “Justin, can you hear me? Come on, kid, wake up.” He wanted to snicker at the EMT’s for being so fucking daft. He’s lost blood you idiot, he’s unconscious, he’s not going to wake up because you asked him to, he didn’t wake up for me when I did, he sure as hell won’t for you. “When did you find him, sir?” They said while loading him up on the gurney, strapping him on in no time. “Not very long ago.” They seemed to not notice his response because they were already moving him out of the bathroom, attempting to get him down the stairs without falling. Looks like this time they were going to take the elevator. No way they could carry him ten flights. Brian rode in the ambulance with them, even though his jeep was parked right beside it. They were saying something, it didn’t sound right to Brian. He couldn’t make out the words, he didn’t want to hear what he knew was true. He wanted to hold Justin’s hand, cling tightly to it and never let it go. He needed that connection right now. He needed to be able to touch him and know that they were going towards help; that they weren’t in that apartment; that Justin still wasn’t bleeding to death. It was the sirens that broke him out of his denial, those massive sounds invading his brain. He couldn’t think when those screams were right above him, the doom that they brought with them. He couldn’t detach himself because of those noises that were coming from all around him, the EMT’s, the squeal of tires, and those fucking sirens. When they arrived it was fucking déjà vu all over again. They were rolling Justin out and he followed. His mind flashed back to the place he had resolved to forget about. He wanted it buried. But, he couldn’t be bothered with his own sense of loss and pain, Justin was getting pumped full of liquids, being poked with all kinds of needles. He didn’t know what the hell they were doing to the boy. He couldn’t be bothered with all their technical talk; it only gave him a headache. He watched them wheel him, faster and faster until he was completely out of site. “We ask you to wait here until Mr. Taylor is treated.” He looked up at the nurse who spoke to him. “Alright.” They could have asked him to give 5 gallons of blood, his sperm, fuck even a fucking kidney and he would had given it to them. He couldn’t process any of this, couldn’t think of one reasonable thought that could explain just what the hell was happening. He wanted to laugh though, a crazy, insane, on the verge of hysteria laugh. But, he couldn’t will it to come out and release him. He just stood there in the hallway, waiting for someone to come and get him. To take him to Justin.